DRAW CURTAINS

Arsenal continue their unbeaten run but it’s the constant stalemates that are killing their top-four hopes

BEING quick on the draw might have been the key to staying alive in the old Wild West but it is killing Arsenal’s Champions League hopes.

This fourth successive stalemate was Arsenal’s 13th from their 25 Premier League games.

That represents 26 dropped points and is the main reason why they are languishing in midtable, well adrift of the top four.

They had chances to score before Burnley took control but Alexandre Lacazette and the returning Pierreemerick Aubameyang were wasteful.

Defensively

Arsenal are undoubtedly making progress under Mikel Arteta

(right), but it is hard to put a positive gloss on failing to beat Burnley, a clash which has been a banker for them over the last decade.

Yes, they are unbeaten in their seven games in 2020, but Arteta has won only one of his seven league matches in charge.

In truth, they were lucky to leave Turf Moor with a point.

Burnley boss Sean Dyche has never had a better chance of recording his first win against them. Jeff Hendrick, Jay Rodriguez and James Tarkowski all missed chances to register what would have been Burnley’s first top-flight win over Arsenal since September 1974.

The Clarets, who have beaten Leicester and Manchester United in the last month, were the better side and will wonder how they failed to collect another three points. Instead Dyche had to make do with a first point against the Gunners at his 10th attempt.

He said before the game that Burnley had turned the corner after those defeats of clubs with top-four aspirations and tried to see the positives here but deep down you suspect he will be cursing his side’s luck. Arsenal should have scored in the opening minutes but Lacazette (below) headed wide and Aubameyang totally fluffed a great opening, shooting horribly off-target when played through by David Luiz on the left.

Aubameyang, who was back after his three-match suspension, was then denied by Nick Pope as he attempted to lob the Burnley goalkeeper.

Burnley grew into the game and Rodriguez’s low-drilled shot was well saved by Bernd Leno, diving to his right.

The Clarets were also profligate and Hendrick twice missed the target with a left-footed effort and a header either side of halftime. In between those two efforts, which left Dyche with his head in his hands, Rodriguez headed wide from a free-kick as Burnley turned up the pressure.

The Gunners wilted and Arteta took off Mesut Ozil just after the hour-mark after yet another disappointing display from the German playmaker.

In a game of missed chances, Rodriguez was guilty of the worst one, thumping the ball against the underside of the bar from inside the sixyard box. It bounced on the line with Rodriguez appealing in vain that it was a goal, and that was the closest either side got to breaking the deadlock.